Las Vegas Weekly

February 2, 2012 · 3:43 PM

Presidential palate also includes margherita pizzas from Due Forni

By John Katsilometes

President Obama speaks at a UPS facility in Las Vegas on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/ErikKabik.com

By John Katsilometes

The restaurants whence the Big Cheese ordered pizza during his stay in Las Vegas last week has become a two-topping issue.

President Barack Obama’s 12-pizza, multiple-cannoli order from the recently opened Dom DeMarco’s Pizza & Bar on West Charleston Avenue in Summerlin has received an extra-large serving of national and local media coverage. The new pizza joint is an outpost of Brooklyn’s renowned Di Fara’s pizzeria and co-owned by Albert Scalleat.

Scalleat took the well-chronicled order from an associate visiting with the presidential entourage last Wednesday. The Obama camp was ensconced at Element Hotel, which sits about three miles away from Dom DeMarco’s on Discovery Drive.

Basking in national media attention to the point that even TMZ has called asking for details, Scalleat reports at least a 15-percent boost in business since the saucy news was made public. One report put that bump at 25 percent, and that’s a lotta dough, my friends.

But it was not the only pizza order made for the president that night. At 10:15, a call was made to the pizza restaurant across the street from Element, Due Forni, which celebrates its year anniversary next Wednesday. Restaurant co-owner Alex Taylor had earlier in the day offered his services to the hotel if it needed a delivery to the presidential party, even though Due Forni does not typically deliver. Realizing Element does not offer room service, Taylor gladly offered to hustle an order to the hotel if it was for the presidential party.

The call came just as Due Forni was closing, but Taylor willingly took the order -- two margherita pizzas -- keeping his word that he would deliver if it was for the president’s team. He delivered the order himself, parking in the Terrible Herbst Chevron gas station and convenience store in front of the hotel, where he was met by a person who, we surmise, was a member of the president’s Secret Service detail.

The two walked over to Element, where Taylor was passed to a second stoic person who also resonated “security” and simply offered the order for cash. He made the drop, went back to the restaurant -- and proceeded to not make a big deal out of it (the first I’d heard of any of this was at Saturday night’s Nevada Ballet Theatre Black & White Ball honoring Eva Longoria at Aria, where Taylor was telling friends about the rare opportunity to serve).

Reached by phone at the restaurant, Taylor spoke about it today, but stressed that he did not seek attention for the transaction. Say this for pizza master: He’s far better at making pies than news.

“A lot of my customers have said, ‘You should call! You should call!’ ” Taylor said (the customers are either referring to members of the media or, perhaps, Ghostbusters). “I just told them, ‘It’s a voting issue -- remember when you cast your vote where the president ordered his pizza from.’ ”

There does seem enough pizza to go around. As an addendum, Taylor and his family were invited to tour Air Force One. A member of Taylor’s extended family is a member of the presidential communications staff.

Sadly, Taylor did not meet the president himself.

“I can only hope,” he said, “that he liked the pizza.”

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.

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